


Just Like the Movies

by carolinecrane



Category: Hot Fuzz (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-20
Updated: 2009-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-15 15:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4611309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a formula to the romantic comedy, everybody knows that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Like the Movies

Used to be, Danny watched movies as a bit of an escape from everyday life. Then Nicholas turned up and his life started to _be_ a movie, or near enough, anyway. There were car chases and gunfire and even helicopters, that one time, though the truth was the chopper had only come along to try to whisk Nicholas back to London.

Danny expected him to go. He expected Nicholas would change his mind a few days or maybe weeks after, once things settled back down and the village was back to normal. But that was before Danny got shot, and after he got better and they let him out of hospital, his life started to be less like an action movie and more like a romantic comedy.

Not that he watched much in the way of romantic comedies, but they were all pretty much the same, weren’t they? So he knew the signs. There was the hero – that was Nicholas, of course – all serious and earnest and such, glued to Danny’s side and fussing over him until Danny could barely stand it. The one-on-one time was nice, though, so he didn’t like to complain much.

There were the quirky villagers to make up their supporting cast, adding in the comedy bits every so often. Mostly when they were down the pub for a couple pints after a long day of patrolling the village. And of course there were the Andys, who provided the tension by asking after Nicholas’ boyfriend every time they saw Nicholas without Danny. It made Nicholas self-conscious, and Danny wished they’d stop, but he knew from long experience that there was no reasoning with the Andys.

He was fairly sure that the only reason they didn’t say anything in front of him was out of respect for the fact that his dad was a nutter, but even that wouldn’t hold for much longer. But so far there was no sign of a big romantic ending: Nicholas hadn’t turned up outside his cottage in the rain, he hadn’t ridden up in a big white car – though there was a white horse that one time – and he hadn’t grabbed Danny in a fit of sexual frustration and planted a kiss on him in front of the entire pub.

He hadn’t done any of those things, but he’d _stayed_ , and that was something. He’d been there when Danny woke up in hospital as well, and every day after until they finally said Danny could go home. So if it was up to Danny to make sure they got their happy ending, it was all right. Nicholas had done everything else, so it was the least he could do, really.

The question was how to go about it. They spent all their free time together, so getting Nicholas alone wasn’t a problem. Mostly Nicholas spent his time fussing over Danny’s injuries, but Danny figured all he needed to get Nicholas over that was the right distraction. 

He thought about buying flowers, but the shop hadn’t opened back up since poor Miss Tiller’s murder. He could drive over to Buford Abbey and pick some up there, but ducking Nicholas long enough to make the trip was a problem. He considered making a fancy dinner for the two of them, candles and the whole bit, but he didn’t know how to cook much of anything, and Nicholas wasn’t the type to settle for a good old-fashioned fry up for dinner. Sure, he’d likely be gracious about it, but Nicholas deserved better than that. 

He deserved something perfect, like in the movies. So there was only one thing for it; Danny was just going to have to watch every romantic comedy he could think of until he figured out exactly the right way to let Nicholas know how much he cared. It wasn’t much of a sacrifice, really; there weren’t explosions or car chases, but Nicholas was still sitting right next to him while he watched.

“What’s this?” Nicholas asked as the opening titles on the first film began to roll. He scrunched up his nose in that cute little way he had and picked up the DVD case, peering down at the title for a second before he glanced over at Danny. “ _Notting Hill_?”

“Thought we’d like a change of pace,” Danny said without looking away from the screen. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. Granted, a change of pace in Nicholas’ mind would probably have leaned more toward art house films or maybe the odd documentary, but Danny was making a point. Or he would, just as soon as he worked out how to go about it. Only he wasn’t a famous American actress, and Nicholas wasn’t a mousy shop owner. He knew he should have put in _Sleepless In Seattle_ first.

“Would you rather _When Harry Met Sally_?” he asked, waving the stack of romantic comedies the girl at the video shop had assured him would win even the coldest heart. Of course, she’d probably never met Nicholas.

“Danny, these…” Nicholas trailed off, reaching out to take the stack of videos from him. He flipped through the titles, frown deepening with each one and Danny had to remind himself not to reach out and smooth the little lines around Nicholas’ mouth. “There’s not a single explosion in any of these.”

“Well, no,” Danny said. “But _Hitch_ has got Will Smith; that’s promising.”

The look Nicholas gave him told Danny that not only did he not believe Will Smith could redeem a film as dubious as _Hitch_ , but that clearly he thought Danny had gone round the bend. He set the movies down and turned toward Danny, hand reaching out to feel his forehead. 

“Are you ill? Did you pull your stitches and get an infection? Should I call the doctor?”

“I’m fine,” Danny said, reaching up to pull Nicholas’ hand away from his forehead. 

“Honestly, I’m fine,” he added when he looked over and realized Nicholas was actually worried. Which was sweet, but not at all what he’d had in mind for tonight. “I just…well, I thought if we watched a few of these, maybe we’d get an idea of how it was done.”

“How what was done?”

“The big romantic ending,” Danny confessed, ducking his head to avoid meeting Nicholas’ gaze. It sounded a bit silly when he said it out loud, but Nicholas’ hand was still in his and he hadn’t pulled it away yet, so maybe it wasn’t _that_ silly. “We’ve survived the obstacles in our path, even the one where my dad tried to kill you. And now the way is clear for the big romantic ending, but I wanted it to be perfect for you, so I thought we could get some ideas from the movies.”

“Are you saying…are you _wooing_ me?” Nicholas asked, and he looked confused, but there was a bit of a smile in there too. Probably nobody but Danny would be able to tell, but that was what made them so perfect together.

“You’ve been wooing _me_ ,” Danny answered, suddenly a little shy because he’d been sure a few minutes ago, but now he didn’t know. “You’ve been looking after me, right?”

“Well, yes, but…” Nicholas looked up then, stopping in mid-sentence to smile at Danny. “I suppose I have been, a bit. So all this…” He gestured toward the film still playing on the television, at Hugh Grant looking mopey over Julia Roberts.

“Thought it might give me a little inspiration,” Danny confessed. “I wanted the big finale to be perfect. You deserve that after looking after me so well.”

“It’s not a movie, Danny,” Nicholas said, looking down at their hands where they were still clasped together and resting on Danny’s thigh. And Danny knew it wasn’t a movie, but it was as good as, because here they were, and if he wasn’t mistaken they were going to get their happy ending after all. He opened his mouth to say so, but before he got the chance Nicholas was somehow closer than he’d been a moment ago.

“But it is perfect,” he whispered just before he leaned in for the big kiss. 

And it was.


End file.
